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“Hear, hear! Pick me,” Shannon muttered just loud enough for him and Bonnie to hear.

“Don’t you have a brush to clean?” Bonnie asked. She was clearly grumpy. It just made her cuter.

“Nope. My station is neat and tidy. But thanks for your concern.” Shannon beamed.

Jase worked hard to keep a straight face.

“Are you trying not to laugh?” Bonnie asked as she pointed the shears at his reflection.

“No, ma’am,” he said before he burst out laughing. After he settled, he started talking while she cut his hair. “So, is there anything you don’t like? Sushi, for example.”

“I like sushi. I’m kind of sick of fish sticks and tater tots. But we’re not going out to dinner.”

“And your kids, I’m thinking first we go someplace where we could burn off a little energy before they have to sit down for dinner. Maybe that putt putt golf and games. We start with the batting cages where they both work on hitting the balls, and Lachlan can hit them as hard as he wants before we move to the putt-putt course where he’s going to need a little more finesse. Then we can go to an Italian place I know that serves macaroni and cheese and a side of meatballs for the kids, and we can get adult food. How does that sound?”

Bonnie had slowly stopped cutting his hair. She was taking in everything he was saying. Her eyes lit up when he’d mentioned that Lachlan would be less likely to hit the golf ball hard if they did the batting cages first. Then she started smiling when he mentioned the macaroni and cheese.

I’ve got her.

“That wouldn’t be any fun for you,” she protested.

“Are you kidding? I’m at the putt-putt course so often, they know my name.”

“Why?”

“Gustavo’s kids. He’s one of my brothers. He’s a surgeon in Norfolk, his wife works as a physical therapist. When they need a break, I have their three boys come stay with me for a long weekend.”

“How old are they?”

“The oldest is your kid’s age. Then there is Ricky, he’s five, and Bobby, he’s four.”

“That’s a lot to handle.”

“Yeah, but I love it. I have a big enough place for them to be comfortable, and the backyard is all fenced in so they can play, and I don’t have to worry too much.”

As they continued to talk, Bonnie had gone back to cutting his hair.

“Lean forward,” she instructed him. “I want to clean up your neck.”

She bent and reached into a low drawer. Once again, Jase got a good view of her delectable ass. He wanted to grip it. Kiss it. Bite it.

She stood up and turned around. She had the trimmer. “I need to clean-up your neck,” she explained.

Jace leaned forward and Bonnie ruffled his hair. Her small hands felt good.

Bonnie sifted her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and tugged upwards. Jase could imagine her tugging at his hair as if they were in bed together. She applied the trimmer to his neck and he could feel her careful confidence.

“Sit back up.”

He did.

“All done.”

The only thing that made those words somewhat okay was that she had to bend down to put the shears back down in her drawer.

She pulled out a blow dryer, then she turned it on and warm air gently blew the shavings off his head, neck, and the cape.

She put her blow dryer back in the cupboard and brought out a bottle.